Continuing our team’s review of eco-friendly sanitary products, Nana and Cori from our distribution team share the highs and lows of the DivaCup menstrual cup.

“I chose the DivaCup because it's the original menstrual cup and I had read good reviews about it. From what I understood, it's stiffer then some of the other brands so it stays in place better. I also read that coloured silicone is possibly unsafe and DivaCup only comes in plain silicone, even though it's definitely less 'fun' looking than some of the other brands.

“I usually have super heavy periods, but the first day I used it, it seemed to be going well, so I even decided to go to the gym! I got through my whole workout before the 'bloodbath' ensued. I'd left it too long and now there was no way to take it out and empty it without getting blood everywhere....in a public toilet. Needless to say it was not a fun experience!

”But the next few days more than made up for it. When flow isn't heavy, it's super convenient! Just empty it once in the morning and once at night and that's it. I actually forgot I had my period. I found the trick to getting a good seal is to fold it in half, get all the air out of it and not let it go until it’s all the way inside. That way it kind of 'suctions' in, which is how it’s supposed to work, I guess, but I found it a bit tricky and sometimes it would leak if I hadn't done it right.

”All in all, I will definitely use it again as its large capacity means I don't have to spend all day running back and forth to the toilet and can sleep through the night. It's much more pleasant to use and less wasteful than pads and tampons and you only have to spend money on it once instead of buying supplies every month. It's a super minimalist approach to periods, you only need the one thing!”

“I can honestly give you pros and cons, I found there is a lot of 'hands on' stuff to do so if you’re someone who really doesn’t like touching much down there during your menstrual time, it’s not for you, and if there is no sink where you’re changing the cup, it’s super difficult.

I had to learn that the hard way and had a weird experience wearing the cup on a date. What was awful was that I was in the bathroom with no sink to rinse it and no tissue in the cubicle. Well, thinking on it now I probably could have inserted it again without rinsing but I was in such a panic as I took a long time. My date kept calling me! There were people outside waiting to use the toilet and so I took it out and used a pad, which I always have on me whilst wearing the cup.

It’s perfect when you’re just at home and for night times, especially if you have a heavy flow.

Nana and Cori bought their DivaCups at Feminine Wear, although they are widely available to purchase elsewhere online.